This invention relates to a table or a workstation having a work surface that can be adjusted in vertical height to accommodate the needs and comfort of the user.
The recent widespread use of computer terminals in many offices and industries has led to a number of health and comfort complaints by the workers. Most computer terminals are positioned on conventional non-adjustable desk or work table surfaces and as a result the worker cannot adjust the keyboard or display monitor of the computer terminal to a vertical height that is most convenient and comfortable to the individual worker. Short people must arch their bodies and elevate their arms in order to properly operate the keyboard and view the display monitor. Likewise, tall people must hunch over to properly operate the keyboard and view the display monitor. As a result, conventional non-adjustable desk or work table surfaces for a computer terminal have been uncomfortable for many workers and in some cases have led to health related problems, such as carpal tunnel syndrome of the worker's wrists.
While desks, tables and workstations having a vertically adjustable work surface have been available in the past, they have been generally designed for draftspersons which allow the draftsperson to work in either a sitting or a standing position. Many of the known desks, drafting tables and workstations which were generally designed for draftspersons, were capable of supporting only relatively light loads and were incapable of supporting heavy computer terminals and related equipment. Many of the prior vertically adjustable desks, table and workstations used worm-gear or screw mechanisms to raise and lower the work surface which mechanisms were heavy, expensive and often difficult for the user to operate.